The Netherlands is nearly the most densely populated country on the planet, but its cities are small. Visitors are surprised to find that Amsterdam has less than 800,000 residents. The Dutch population (16.5million) is dotted across the country in hundreds of small towns and villages. Most have green space all around them, water close by, and relatively prosperous residents who can restore old houses, employ good architects and develop attractive gardens. Consequently rural Holland is one of the prettiest places on earth.
So here are my top five, in no particular order:
Spaarndam
Muiden
Muiden is made special by having a busy lock, a mooring for tall sailing ships, and Muiderslot, a restored castle on the waterfront. At Muiden a cyclist can sit by the lock with a beer or a coffee and admire the work others have done on their expensive hobby boats.
Broek in Waterland
In the middle of the most appealling (and most popular) riding area out of Amsterdam, Broek in Waterland has little wooden houses in lush gardens, and a church tower peeping up above the lake. A close call between this village and neighbour Zuiderwoude for inclusion in the list, but Broek has better cafes.
Weesp
Weesp was razed to the ground in the 16th century by troops from Gelderland. You didn’t know Gelderland had a marauding army? Neither did I, till the information board in Weesp told me. Now Gelderland is a pleasant Dutch province surrounding the town of Arnhem. Weesp recovered from the setback, and now has a couple of church towers, a row of old windmills, a fort, and of course, cafes by the water.
Edam
Thanks to a certain well-known cheese, Edam is the most visited village on my list. It booms in summer when buses churn out tourists to see Cheese Market: The Show on Wednesdays at lunch time. But any other time it’s quiet and well-supplied with preserved buildings.
NOTE: My rule for this short list – a village had to be in Holland. ‘Holland’ is commonly used to mean ‘The Netherlands’ but officially ‘Holland’ refers to two provinces containing Amsterdam (‘Noord Holland’) and The Hague (‘Zuid Holland’). I limited myself even more than that – my favourite villages had to be reachable within a hour’s bike riding from central Amsterdam, so all are in Noord (North) Holland.
There are plenty of other candidates I could have included (Marken, Durgerdam, Baambrugge, Naarden, Abcoude…). I’d like to hear your suggestions. I’m always looking for an excuse to get on the bike for an hour.
Love the pics, Richard. I want to go to all of them.
John, you just gave me an idea. I just checked on a bike route planner website:
Amsterdam-Spaarndam-Edam-Broek-Muiden-Weesp-Amsterdam is 126.7km. A good day’s ride (though there’s a train from Weesp to Amsterdam which would save you 19.7km if you need time for a beer).
Last year we stayed in Weesp for a week and rode hired bikes around to Amsterdam, Muiden, Naarden and local places.
Given the train only takes 15 minutes to get to central Amsterdam – Weesp was a great base – I think I could live there.
Hi Tim, yes I really like Weesp too. We’re pretty attached to Amsterdam and all that goes on there, but I cycle to Weesp (via Abcoude) on average once a fortnight, and sometimes take our visitors out there for a bike ride too. Thanks for the comment.
Nice villages. I love the castle of Muiden too.
I think you should check out Giethoorn and (much closer to home) Schellingwoude too. I’m curious to what you think of it.
Thanks Ilona. Schellingwoude would be a worthy candidate for the list (though I think its neighbour Durgerdam may beat it). Giethoorn I don’t yet know, but I will check it out.
Als je daar bent…fiets je ook even langs Hoogersmilde…hahaha..dorp van niets, maar wel een grote achtertuin…
ok, Hi, all I am going to spend 2 nights in NOORD HOLLAND on the 23 and 24 of July on my way with my husband and 3 children aged 8 and 6 (twins) to Norway. We are driving and our ferry docks at the Hook early evening of the 23rd. I am looking for somewhere relatively cheap for the five of us to stay. I don’t mind basic even a tent would do but I don’t want smokey smells or dirty rooms. Amsterdam is way off my price range and I am intrigued by all these lovely sounding places. Any ideas?
Hi Karen, I know Amsterdam is notoriously expensive for hotels, so my suggestion for your family would be to try to stay in Haarlem – a lovely small town, 20 minutes by train from Amsterdam. It’s big enough to have a range of accommodation options and a lot to offer in sightseeing too.
I’d also suggest looking at http://www.airbnb.com, a website where ordinary residents rent out their spare bedroom, or whole apartments (which it sounds like you would need). It’s not really cheap, but quite a bit cheaper than hotels, and we find it works well.
Hope this helps a bit and that you have great couple of days in our lovely country.
My husband and I just returned from a trip to Amsterdam. We met our son there (we hadn’t seen him in 10 months – he’s been in Afghanistan) and stayed at a wonderful, but expensive, hotel. This was our first trip to Europe and I’m so glad we decided Amsterdam was the place. On Thursday we took the bus to Edam and Vollendam, and although we got a late start, saw quite a bit and had a marvelous time. The villages were beautiful, but the countryside even more so. It seems living anywhere near Amsterdam is costly and I was wondering if there were small villages further out where real estate was any less expensive but just as pretty. Even if I can never live there, I plan to return and would like to stay in the country. (And I CAN dream!)
Thanks,
Lori Hamilton
Lori, I’m glad you enjoyed the lovely Dutch landscape. We too always realise we’re in a relatively prosperous country when we see how well preserved most farmhouses and small villages are.
I’m not a real estate expert, but I imagine the most affordable areas of the Netherlands are in modern housing complexes on the fringes of the larger cities. They’re often not the most beautiful places, but you do get better value for money and a little more space there.
Since the Netherlands are small and densely populated, Dutch villages are always within commuting distance from major centres, so attractive village houses are appealing to people with plenty of money.
Hi Richard, I enjoyed your ride. I pity travelers who include Holland in European tours that practically always are limited to Amsterdam, maybe The Hague too. So I’m glad to suggest any tourist to stay a few days more and visit villages like your Top 5. Having lived a couple of years in Holland, I was lucky enough to know other jewels as well.
En passant, a brief comment on Cologne: As a non-Christian, I liked its Cathedral very much. Right from the very moment I entered the Dom, I had the strange feeling of a religious spirit in every corner; a sensation that was absent during my visit to St Peter’s in Rome, two days earlier.
It was a pleasure to stop surfing the web looking for my subject, and read your blog when it crossed my path.
Take care,
Federico
From Bella Vista (BA), Argentina
Hi Federico, I’m so pleased when people follow my routes and have a good time. It even took me quite a while in Holland to discover that there was more to the country than Amsterdam.
And indeed, I did find Cologne Cathedral really interesting and impressive (and very well guided). I couldn’t say it was a religious experience for me – in fact, when I hear about the ‘sacred’ relics my main thought is how credulous some people seem to be. However, the architecture is beautiful and there’s no doubt it has a powerful effect on believers and non-believers alike.
Weesp? Noooooo
Monnickendam, Edam, Volendam?
Well, Edam’s in there. Volendam…too many bus tourists for my taste. Monnickendam – good choice.
But I do like Weesp too, perhaps because it’s the right distance from Amsterdam to be a convenient bike rider’s koffie stop by the water.
You could pay a visit to Spakenburg as well, especially on Saturdays it’s nice because of the market.
Pretty, historic and beautiful … great photo’s and info.
Very informative, thank you for sharing…
My pleasure of course.
Alkmaar! Easy access by train from Amsterdam, bring a bike an cycle to Bergen an Egmond throught the dunes… Truly amazing!
Excellent choice, Koen, even when there’s no cheese market happening.